What To Know
- Kendra Duggar was arrested and charged with multiple counts of child endangerment and false imprisonment, while her husband Joseph Duggar faces the same new charges.
- Joseph Duggar was previously arrested for alleged lewd and lascivious behavior involving unlawful sexual activity with a minor under 12 during a 2020 family vacation.
- The investigation remains ongoing, and both Kendra and Joseph, known from TLC’s Counting On, are parents to four children.
Warning: The article below contains discussions of sexual assault and child abuse.
19 Kids and Counting star Joseph Duggar‘s wife, Kendra Duggar, was recently arrested — and the couple now faces child endangerment and false imprisonment charges separate from his child molestation charges.
On March 20, Kendra, 27, was arrested and charged with four second-degree counts of endangering the welfare of a minor and four counts of second-degree false imprisonment, a news release from the Tontitown Police Department (TPD) in Arkansas announced.
“This remains an active and ongoing investigation,” the TPD in noted. “To protect the integrity of the investigation and the privacy of those involved, no further details will be provided at this time.”
Detention records for the Washington County Sheriff’s Office indicate that Kendra was booked a little before 5 p.m. local time and released at 6:19 p.m., NBC News reported. She paid a $1,470 bond, per Us Weekly.
Additionally, Joseph, 31 — who was arrested on March 18 on charges of lewd and lascivious behavior involving unlawful sexual activity with a minor — faces the same new charges as his wife. The earlier charges came after Joseph allegedly molested a 9-year-old girl during a family vacation in Panama City Beach, Florida, in 2020.
“The victim reported Duggar repeatedly asked her to sit on his lap. As the vacation continued, he also asked her to sit next to him on a couch and covered them with a blanket,” a March 18 news release from Florida’s Bay County Sheriff’s Office detailed. “During this time, Duggar manipulated the victim’s underwear and grazed her genitals. Duggar would also continue to rub his hands on her thighs.”
Joseph was charged with lewd and lascivious behavior — molestation of a victim less than 12 years old and lewd and lascivious behavior conducted by a person 18 years or older. On March 20, he appeared in an Arkansas court, where he waived his right to an extradition hearing to be extradited to Florida.
Kendra and Joseph, who appeared in TLC’s Counting On, married in 2017 and share four children.
If you or someone you know is the victim of child abuse, contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453). If you or a loved one is in immediate danger, call 911.
If you or someone you know is the victim of sexual assault, contact the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network‘s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or a loved one is in immediate danger, call 911.